1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated sensor device that includes a plurality of sensor units and that can be attached to one portion of an external apparatus.
2. Related Art
A conventional air conditioning apparatus for a vehicle is, as shown in FIG. 17, composed of a compressor 1, a heat exchanger 2, an expansion valve 3, a receiver 4, a condenser 5, and the elements. These components are connected in that order via conduits A1 to A5, to transport refrigerant therethrough, thereby forming a refrigerating cycle.
A temperature sensor 100 and a pressure sensor 101 are disposed on a wall of the conduit A3 connecting the receiver 4 and the expansion valve 3. Output wiring extending from the sensors 100 and 101 are connected to an electronic control unit (hereinbelow referred to as an ECU) 6 to which a plurality of wires are connected from a sensor group 7. The refrigerant is suddenly expanded by the expansion valve 3 to be a low temperature and low pressure liquid, and its temperature and pressure are respectively detected by the temperature sensor 100 and the pressure sensor 101. An on-off control of the compressor 1 and a control of the valve position of the expansion valve 3 are performed based on the detected values of the temperature sensor 100 and the pressure sensor 101. The temperature sensor 100 and the pressure sensor 101 are respectively attached to hole portions formed in the wall of the conduit A3.
In this case, however, the temperature sensor 100 and the pressure sensor 101 have to be attached to the respective hole portions of the conduit A3, and attaching process is complicated. Further, in a case where several properties of the refrigerant are to be detected by respective sensors, there will be a need to form several hole portions in the wall of the conduit to respectively connect the sensors, and then, the sensors respectively have to be attached to the hole portions. As a result, the attachment process of the sensors to the hole portions becomes more complicated.